Chapter 1: Family

Zuko sat in his room, calm, body in lotus position, in the one ray of sunlight that made its way in early that morning as the sun rose. He breathed deeply, meditating on the warmth of the sun, its energy, the strength it added to his firebending. As he exhaled slowly, body ready for his training, muscles ready to spring… and Sokka barged into the room.

"Morning, Zuko! Breakfast's ready!"

"Good morning… Sokka, right?" He gathered his energy, wondering what would have happened if he'd let loose with the fire that had sprung to readiness with the sudden invasion- and had a flash of Katara's late evening visit the day before. He sighed.

"Yup, that's me. Resident advisor, warrior and all-round good guy." Silence fell. "Soo… How'd u sleep?"

"Fine, thanks." Silence again. Zuko tried again. "Thanks for the extra blanket."

"You're welcome." Silence. "Okaay, this is awkward."

"Yeah." Admitting that fact didn't help the situation… until Sokka's eyes landed on Zuko's swords. His excitement about them finally had the two talking comfortably, as fellow warriors and swordsmen. Zuko was especially impressed by Sokka's master... impressed, and surprised. However, Sokka didn't seem to remember the one fact that Zuko would have been most interested in: the gift of the white lotus tile that was given to them when they were leaving. Instead, in typical Sokka fashion, he concentrated on the Master's training, and how he excelled using his ingenuity. By the time Sokka left the room for breakfast, the first strains of bonds of mutual respect had developed between the two.

After a somewhat strained breakfast, Zuko decided that it was time that he and the Avatar started their training- with some breathing exercises. He insisted that he still had to spend some time on them- even after he was told that he'd done them with Jeong Jeong. With the others as spectators, he took the Avatar through them and saw that he was ready to move on. Using a strip of paper, he asked him to instead control the fire. He actually listened this time, and didn't grow impatient and try to create it on his own. Yet, he still had his own little game: he controlled the fire, yes. He stopped it from burning through the paper, but after a couple of hours, he brought it to Zuko. He'd changed the shape of the burn into an arrow.

Their training was interrupted by Toph, who thought it was time Aang learned some more forms in earthbending. Zuko, remembering what his Uncle had told him about learning from others, followed and observed both the Avatar's earthbending and waterbending lessons. He was confused, though, as to the aura of the group. This was nothing like he'd imagined it- a group of children playing around that he thought he'd have to focus, or a group of diehards with whom he'd have to compete for time to train the Avatar. Instead, they worked together, often two of them coordinating their training to the greater benefit, yet having fun at the same time with a lot of foolishness thrown in. He was confused. The one so many relied on to save the world… actually acted like the twelve year old kid he was. And the others not only tolerated it, but at times, encouraged it and joined in.

Late that night, when the door opened, he thought it was Katara coming to issue another warning. Instead, Toph- feet healed- came in and planted herself on the floor next to him.

"Come to repay me for burning you?" he asked, trying to mask his confusion about the visit.

"Not yet. I haven't come up with a good enough scheme."

"Oh. So, why are you here?" She looked up at him, as if her eyes could actually see the confusion on his face.

"It just occurred to me that we've never actually officially met. I'm Toph Bei Fong."

"Bei Fong? I know of them. It's said to be one of the wealthiest of the Earthbending families. But I don't think I ever knew that they had a daughter."

"Well, they didn't really want the world to know about their vulnerable, blind daughter." A pause. "Ask away, Zuko. I know you're dying to know."

"How long have you been blind? And how can you bend if you can't see?"

"But I can. I've been blind since birth, but I can sense the earth around me through my feet. I use my earthbending to see." As she spoke, she followed with a demonstration by bending a rock out of the ground to draw a pattern of her family's symbol, the flying boar, in the dirt floor.

"Oh. So you must be the most powerful bender of all of us." Surprised, she looked up at him. Unnerved, he continued, trying to explain. "We refine our bending through practice. But you're constantly using yours. Your bending is more a part of you than the rest of us." Somewhat flattered, she looked away.

"Sucking up isn't going to get you out of the beating that's coming, fire boy."

"Sure." Smiling faintly, he fell silent again, shifting a bit in his seat.

"You're not very comfortable around us, are you?" He thought again of Katara's threat, and her obvious hostility that day.

"Not really."

"I'm not talking about Katara and her many, many, issues." He wondered about what to say, and her intuition, but he decided that it couldn't hurt to open up to the one person who'd been willing to give him a chance from the beginning.

"It's just that I'm not used to all of this. Like Haru and The Duke volunteering to give Appa a bath, when he's the Avatar's bison. And Sokka constantly getting in the middle of things, but no one really minds. And why do you have a lemur with you? He serves no purpose! Why do all of you pay so much attention to things that have nothing to do with training the Avatar?" She was silent for a while.

"You don't get it, do you? Zuko, we did come together for one purpose- to train Aang. But that's not why Aang was so willing to let you teach him once he got over his fear of firebending. And Katara's not protective of him just because he's the Avatar. Sokka and I don't stick around just to train him, and figure out a way to defeat Ozai. We're not just a group of people who happen to be travelling together. We're… a family." She said the last as if she too was surprised to realize it.

But after Zuko said nothing, she left, thinking about the family that had refused to see her as she truly was. She would have no doubt been surprised to know that her thoughts mirrored those swirling through Zuko's mind.